Bill on Surviving Prostate Cancer
Men: "Get Checked Early"
Bill Butler (BB) is not just a serious skater he is one of a number
of men who battled and overcame prostate cancer. Remarkably, after
undergoing the procedure to remove five tumors from his prostate area a
decade ago, the skate lover was at the local rink that same night Jammin'
per his usual routine. As a survivor of prostate cancer, Bill encourages
men - particularly Black men - to be proactive about their prostate health.
Prostate cancer is the 2nd leading cancer causing death amongst Black men
who are 60% more likely to get the disease than their White counterparts.
Early detection of abnormalities in PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels
can be a key determining factor in whether a man is able to ward off escalation of
prostate related diseases or end up with full blown cancer. The following
are excerpts from an October 2006 interview RST conducted with Bill regarding his experiences
being diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer.
(RST) - When were you diagnosed with prostate cancer and when
did they announce it was in remission?
(BB) - I think I got it when I was 63, so it's almost
10 years.
(RST) - Did they catch it early?
(BB) - I had 5 tumors, so I don't know early. All
I know is when I couldn't control my urine that's when I went to the doctor.
(RST) - Prior to that, when you went to the doctor at that
time, how long had it been since you'd been to the doctor to be checked?
(BB) - That's the problem. I'd been going to the doctor
but not for that and I would think in my preliminaries, general examinations
or physicals that that was overlooked. So I guess I could blame somebody
because I had had so called physicals before. I've been messed up
for a long time but I don't really blame anybody because I'm still around.
(RST) - You had 5 tumors, then they did the surgery.
How did the surgery affect you as far as you not being able to skate and
how long were you away from skating?
(BB) - I went skating that night.
(RST) - (Laugh)
(BB) - You should have known better than to ask me that.....
(more laughter)
(RST) - Weren't you in pain?
(BB) - No. The doctor, he was an Indian and he was
just amazing. Actually, the doctor went inside twice, he had
me come to the hospital and he went back up in there and went through the
whole procedure again for an exception of operating. He just checked
me out. He was wonderful.
(RST) - Was it surgery or another type of procedure?
(BB) - Definitely surgery. It's just that he had a technique
that was off the chain.
(RST) - But they had to cut you open and sew you back up?
(BB) - No. They went through the penis.
(RST) - So it was [with a scope] or....?
(BB) - Something like that. He had a [tool] with
a little light on the end of [it.]
(RST) - They busted the tumors up?
(BB) - They did something. All I know is there was
no cutting other than internally.
(RST) - Was that a new procedure at the time or something he'd been
doing?
(BB) - No, it wasn't a new procedure. The day of
the examination, we were discussing it and he said to me, "Mr. Butler
you can get a second opinion if you'd like." I said, "Okay, but can
I ask you this doctor? How many operations have you done?"
He said 80 and I said, "That's cool. Make me 81," and he immediately
told the guy to put my name [down] so they could get this operation underway.
He wasn't fooling around.
My PSA was 34 and a normal PSA, as I remember at the time, was supposed
to be 4. Mine was 34. I asked him what my rating was
and he said, "A, B, C, D – yours is D as in Delta." In other words, I was
messed up so I think that takes care of early. It wasn't early.
I guess a B would have been early.
(RST) - When you look back now, do you see there were certain
signs or symptoms that were there and you just didn't pay attention to
them?
(BB) - No. It was abrupt.
(RST) - How did that experience effect you as far as giving
you a different perspective on life?
(BB) - You don't have no more kids, that's for sure.
That's a done deal. If you haven't had kids, that's it. It
ain't happening no more. The sex thing is off the list.
(RST) - You mean as far as having children?
(BB) - Well, sex is kind of out of the question in terms
of an erection and all that sort of thing.
(RST) - What would you say to other men about your experience,
to prevent them from going through the same thing?
(BB) - Keep up with your examinations, make sure that
you do have a good doctor, somebody that's up on it and don't wait for
that moment because it may effect you a little different. I don't
think there's a set way for it to happen. In my case, I had 5 tumors
and I was in trouble right away. That day I knew something was wrong.
What actually happened, the urine, I couldn't control that. I had
to go to the bathroom and I just went, I just urinated.
What I would say to other men is get checked early. Start that
procedure as early as possible. When is early? I would
say late 30s or early 40s, mid 40s at least, get started. What you
do, there's nothing invasive about it – just get your PSA checked.
That's what you do, that's how you tell and if it's above 5 or 4, anything
above that, get your prostate checked. You remember my PSA level
was 34, that's crazy. So, get it checked. Go to your doctor,
I would say you could start in your 30s – what's wrong with that?
And keep an eye on it. That's when you're gonna know anything about
early. I had to get to the end of the rope so I don't think I was
early at all. That's what I'd say.
(RST) - Thank you.
- Posted 01/16/07 -
| 